Mark 6:8-9

‘And he charged them that they should take nothing for their journey except only a staff, no bread, no pack, no money in their belt, but to go shod with sandals and not to put on two coats.'

They were to take only the minimum that they were standing up in on their journeying. God would provide the remainder. Now the prayer that they had been taught, ‘give us today our daily bread', would take on new meaning. Behind this requirement was the need to make clear that they were going out as preachers, not as recruitment sergeants. Like Jesus they were to be meek and lowly in heart.

‘Except only a staff.' There is no real contradiction with Matthew. If they had a staff with them they could take it, but they were not to seek one out if they did not have one (Matthew 10:10). The point was that they were not to stop in order to obtain one, nor to think in terms of earthly protection, or of belligerence. The sense of urgency was to be paramount. We can see the situation as it arose. Firstly He said to them all, ‘Do not take a staff.' Then one or two who always carried a staff, probably including Peter, then said, ‘Should we then throw our staves away?' To which Jesus replies, ‘No, if you already have one, take it.' Thus to Peter He said, ‘only a staff'. To Matthew He said, ‘Take no staff'.

And for all provisions they must trust God and God alone. Food, money, and other necessities would be provided by Him as they trusted Him and worked faithfully in His name. They had to travel by faith with minimum preparation. ‘Pack' may mean a begging wallet. They were not to beg. God would supply their needs (Matthew 6:25).

These provisions demonstrated the haste with which they were to begin their journeys. They stressed the urgency of them. And they stressed what their hearts should be set on. They were to stop for nothing and be ready to live on the minimum. And like Elijah they were to depend fully on God (1 Kings 17:3).

‘To go shod with sandals.' They were to go in what they were wearing and not to pack extra sandals or other footwear (Matthew 10:10; Luke 10:4).

‘Not to put on two coats.' The same applied as with the sandals. They were not to be over-provided for, or to provide for eventualities. They were to be satisfied with minimum basic clothing. Whatever was needed extra God would provide (Matthew 6:25). On cold nights two coats would have been welcome protection if they had to sleep outside, but Jesus is saying, ‘trust God and recognise that He will always provide shelter for the night unless He has a deeper lesson to teach you'.